Ark. Community Colleges Team Up For More Aviation Programs

Several Arkansas community colleges are teaming up to increase aviation education in the state.

Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville and Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock are members of the consortium that hopes to expand aviation programs, as interest in flying and fixing airplanes is on the rise.

Pulaski Tech's Steve Hotle says his students are hired before they're even done with school. Hotle says demand for aircraft mechanics is high right now.

Pulaski Tech's program is based at the North Little Rock Airport. Hotle says the college plans to build a second hangar that will more than double the program's instruction space.

Nine community colleges have formed a consortium to increase the state's aviation offerings.

The Federal Aviation Administration has certified 170 aviation maintenance programs throughout the country.

According to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, aircraft mechanics and service technicians made a median wage of $21.77 per hour in May 2004.